


A Bug in the Code (Gone Critical)

by Anonymous



Category: Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: Cooking, Dark!River Song - Freeform, Domestic, F/F, Minor Character Death, New Planets, Post-Library River Song, Saving the World, Temporal Paradox, Temporary Character Death, Those tags shouldn't go together, and yet here we are
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-08
Updated: 2021-02-07
Packaged: 2021-03-13 16:15:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 10,032
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29281296
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/
Summary: River has come back to life and sent the Doctor a letter. The Doctor is all for seeing her, but then she sees other letters, these ones sent by children. Children whose planets are being destroyed. River will have to wait, at least until the Doctor runs into her on the very planet she's trying to save...
Relationships: Thirteenth Doctor/River Song
Comments: 1
Kudos: 1
Collections: Five Figure Fanwork Exchange 2020





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [TheseusInTheMaze](https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheseusInTheMaze/gifts).



The Doctor had made her fair share of friends and enemies in the multiverse. She was rarely caught in this universe without someone by her side, and as such, plenty of people tried to keep in correspondence with her when they could after they had left her. Whether they went on one adventure or one hundred, she made it a point to try and reply to them when she got the chance.

As she left the intergalactic post office, flipping through the letters, she paused as she saw something she hadn't seen in quite some time. There was a letter in it, addressed to her in a familiar script. She turned it over, and sure enough, it was sealed with a kiss on the back. She hurried to the TARDIS and put the other letters aside. It had been all too long since she had gotten a letter from _her,_ and she wanted to see what it said yesterday.

Tearing the flap open and tossing the envelope to the side, trembling fingers opened the letter from the Doctor's wife. She felt her throat growing tight as she looked desperately at the page. It appeared to be blank, until she opened it fully and saw a small drawing at the bottom. A drawing that looked eerily familiar. She opened up one of the screens on the TARDIS and ran a search through space and time which she recognized. Trenzalore.

Looking closer, she saw that there were tiny holes poked into the paper, as well. She blinked. River was rarely so careless. Dimming the TARDIS' light, she held it up to the screen, and saw that the holes aligned with different stars in the galaxies surrounding the planet. "Well, River. Looks like we're back at the game again," the Doctor muttered to herself. She looked at the stack of letters and sighed. She knew if she left right now, she'd never get around to answering them. And with a time machine, she could head to those stars wherever she liked. She pinned up River's letter and went to the stack. Surely, replying to these letters wouldn't take too long.

She read through them semi-quickly, before writing replies to every last one. A few of them were just catching up letters, making sure she was well. Some of them were asking for her to come work for some company or another, which she didn't really have an interest in. The scariest ones, by far, however, came from a child or children writing her, asking her to save their planet. She would get three or four letters in a row from one child, and then...nothing. And this happened multiple times. Her concern was growing, and she put those letters aside for investigation whenever she came across them.

After five different children of such letters had written her, she decided enough was enough. She needed to investigate this now, other letters be damned. She set the coordinates for the first letter, just shy of Alpha Centauri, and went full throttle towards the planet.

The TARDIS materialized and after the Doctor opened the cameras outside the TARDIS, her jaw dropped. She was familiar with this planet, all lush green life and full of different crops. They were one of the major agricultural hubs of this galaxy. And yet, the ground outside was barren in the middle of a hot summer. She opened the door, stepping outside. The acrid smell of smoke met her nostrils, and she turned to find a fire building in the distance, burning up the last of the crops for what seemed like miles. "No, no, no!" the Doctor exclaimed, running forward and stripping herself of her coat before throwing it over the fire to smother it. She stamped out the last of the embers and removed her coat to assess the damage. Whatever the crop had been before, it wasn't anything now. Just blackened charcoal and ash. "This isn't good," she muttered to herself. "Someone's gonna destroy this whole galaxy at this rate."

"Someone already has," a voice said from behind her.

She turned around to see a small child with tears in their eyes. "I wrote you. I wrote you so many times, just like she told me to, and you never came."

"I didn't get them until today," the Doctor stammered out. "I'm so sorry."

The child sniffled. "She was only letting me stay here long enough to talk to you. She'll probably send me away like she did everyone else, now."

"Who's 'she'?" the Doctor asked. Honestly, if Missy had gone bad again—

But the child didn't get the chance to respond before in a flash of white light, they were teleported away. The Doctor brought out her sonic and scanned it, finding nothing out of the ordinary. It was as if the child was never there in the first place. There was no trace of them. That was almost more concerning. If her sonic couldn't detect anything, something had gone very wrong indeed.

Pursing her lips, the Doctor went back to the TARDIS. She had to head to the main city. Maybe someone there could be alerted to this mess. Maybe someone there could stop this with her. Maybe—

But when she travelled there, nobody came when she called. The buildings were destroyed rubble. There were no bodies in the streets, but the whole place was ransacked. A few rats scurried through the street, fighting over scraps from the once plentiful stalls of the markets. The Doctor shook her head. She didn't know what was going on, but she had to go back in time to stop it.

Those other letters, though...

The Doctor turned back to her TARDIS. There was no way she could save every planet. That didn't mean she wouldn't try, but this one was already gone. If there was a chance she could save one of the others before it collapsed, she would hurry there first. She'd leave herself a note to come back to this one.

So that's what she did. She left herself a note on the console and headed to Beta Phi, the next planet on her list. The inhabitants of that planet simply named it "Home," and she always had a fond smile at how human that seemed. Her smile dropped as she realized that this planet was under siege as well.

She opened the TARDIS doors as the brakes ground to a halt. She looked around. The people here were few and far between, but at least there _were_ people. They looked nothing like the cheery inhabitants she usually saw, though. They were dressed in black and gray, and they kept their heads down, walking around the TARDIS and the Doctor as if they weren't even there. "Excuse me?" she asked, running up to the nearest one. "Excuse me, what happened here?"

He looked at her in fear. "Please, keep your voice down! If she hears you, she'll—"

He didn't finish before the same bright white light that had taken the child took him as well. The inhabitants of the street scurried away from her at a slightly quicker pace.

The Doctor's concern only grew. She didn't know what was causing this, and whenever she moved towards someone, they'd only run away from her. She needed answers, and fast.

Hurrying back to the TARDIS, she looked at the letter more closely, finding the house where the child who wrote her lived. She rushed to the address, as thankfully it was in the same city she was in, but the house was no longer there. It was simply a pile of rubble. The Doctor walked through the broken archway, feeling her heart ripping into pieces as she saw stray children's toys strewn on the floor. There was also quite a bit of blood and broken tools, so whoever was here wasn't going down without a fight.

But she could quickly realize that whoever was taking over this planet, wasn't on this planet anymore. Not if they could remotely teleport their victims somewhere else. She walked out of the house and back to the TARDIS. The hair on the back of her neck stood on end, and she looked around, trying to find someone or something looking at her. All she saw were the shadows and the shells of what were a once vibrant people.

Whoever was doing this, she hoped she'd get to strangle them at least a little bit.

Stepping back into the TARDIS, she looked at the other letters. The next three seemed to come from sister planets that revolved around each other, rather than the same sun. She swallowed her apprehension and set the coordinates, going five years back in time before the letters were written. A planet couldn't be destroyed overnight, after all, and she needed answers.

The TARDIS whooshed to a stop, and the Doctor stepped out, glancing around. Thankfully, the planet she had landed on was still intact. She blew out a breath. There was a chance she could get to the bottom of this after all!

Wandering around the streets, she couldn't see anything too out of the ordinary. Aliens were going in and out of shops, buying things, comparing bags, talking to each other, laughing. It was all so...domestic and normal. It made the Doctor's heart hurt to think that in a few years, children would be desperate enough to write her to save the planet.

She was so busy walking through the street that she quite literally ran into someone else. "Oh, I'm sorry! Are you—" she exclaimed, before stopping in place when she saw who it was. River.

River looked at her curiously, before she slowly started to smile. "My, your latest regeneration must have been a shock, wasn't it?"

"Yeah," the Doctor said with a slight laugh. "Good to see you, River."

"You too, sweetie," River said.

"What are you doing here?" the Doctor asked.

River looked around and shrugged. "Same thing you're doing, I imagine. Travelling the galaxy, looking for some fun, or trouble, or both."

"I'm definitely looking for trouble this time around," the Doctor laughed awkwardly. "Got some letters recently that kinda disturbed me. Wanted to get to the bottom of everything before another planet or three could be damaged or worse."

River's eyebrows shot up. "An 'or worse' situation? Not on Earth? Those are rare."

"Well, Earth is one of the noisiest planets in the history of the universe," the Doctor said, before shaking her head. "But that's not important right now. What _is_ important, is stopping this from becoming an 'or worse' situation. Are you willing to help me?"

River gave the Doctor a wink. "Always, sweetie. But you must be tired. Should we find some place to rest up that isn't the hammock in the TARDIS?"

"I'll have you know the TARDIS is highly comfy!" the Doctor huffed.

"Yes, when you actually use one of the beds," River said. "That hammock throws out your back if you're not careful, and you're rarely careful. Let's find a hotel to stay in."

"River—"

"—The planet won't be destroyed overnight, sweetie," River insisted firmly. "And I don't know when the last time you slept was, but judging by the dark circles forming under your eyes, it wasn't recently."

The Doctor huffed and grumbled, but River just guided her by the elbow to wherever she had taken up staying.

They went to the hotel and the two of them wandered into River's room. The Doctor whistled. "How'd you get this room?" she asked. "It's impressive."

"I held my gun to the manager's head," River said.

"River!" the Doctor lightly scolded. "Be serious!"

River smiled at the Doctor and said, "I have my connections," as if that explained everything.

It didn't explain much. But the Doctor didn't have time to complain before River said, "You must be tired, sweetie. Why don't you have a cuppa while I talk to a few friends nearby to make sure everything's okay?"

The Doctor sighed. A cuppa did sound nice right about now. "Oh, fine," she said. "But first thing we do when we leave the room is investigate together, all right?"

"Of course," River agreed, before going to the kitchenette in the room and putting the kettle on.

The two of them sat on the bed, and River asked, "So, how long has it been since you regenerated?"

"Not too long," the Doctor said. "Maybe a couple months."

River nodded.

"Where are you in the timeline?" the Doctor asked.

River pulled her hair into a loose ponytail and sighed. "I know about Trenzalore. I went to the library."

"You—?" the Doctor cut herself short. "You should be dead!"

"Somehow I came back," River said with a shrug. "I don't understand it any better than you do. Someone was able to retrieve me. I didn't get a chance to even thank them before they were gone and I was sent to another planet to avoid being eaten alive."

The Doctor frowned. "Someone knew you were there?" she asked.

River nodded. "And I know that you wouldn't have done that without at least a hello," River said. "So I'm as lost about it as you are."

The Doctor worried her lip. That didn't bode well for anything, mysterious benefactors doing things that somehow helped her or people around her. "You're sure you don't know who it was?"

"I heard the click of heels," River said, standing up as the kettle whistled. "But that's all I remember."

That didn't narrow it down at all. The Doctor worried her lip some more until River came over with the tea. "I wouldn't worry about it, sweetie. I'm here now, and that's what's important," River assured her.

"I suppose you're right," the Doctor sighed.

"I usually am," River smirked.

The Doctor rolled her eyes and took a sip of the tea. It was nice. A little sweet for her taste buds, but she knew this was how she liked it the last regeneration, so she couldn't fault River for that. "Thank you," she said.

"Not a problem, sweetie. I'm going to take a shower," River said. "You're welcome to join me, if you'd like."

The Doctor laughed good-naturedly and River sauntered to the bathroom. Enticing as the offer was, the Doctor was more tired than anything else. She took another sip of tea before leaving it on the night stand, and crawling up to the top of the queen-sized bed and laying her head on the pillows. Between the sound of the water from the shower and the warm tea in her stomach, she was asleep in moments.


	2. Chapter 2

When the Doctor woke up again, she bolted upright and looked around. River was sitting in bed next to her, reading a book. "Any good?" the Doctor asked in a voice just this shy of casual.

"Not really," River laughed, closing the book. "You were tossing and turning a bit. Nightmares?"

"Only a little," the Doctor sighed. "And they're not as bad as they used to be."

"Glad to hear that, at least," River said. "You slept through the night. Are you still willing to go around town and investigate? Or would you want to spend some time here with me?"

"Not that I don't love the domesticity..." the Doctor said slowly. "But I'd feel better knowing what was going on with the letters I've been getting."

River sighed, but nodded. "I was hoping you'd be willing to spend some time just with me, but that bleeding heart of yours won't stop," she said. "Then again, that's why I love you."

The Doctor grinned, and the two of them got up and walked out of the room. "Where to first?" River asked.

"I figure heading to the local library is a good start," the Doctor said. "They'll have the local newspapers and we can see if anything's come up there."

River nodded and they headed out to the streets. Despite the circumstances that brought her here, the Doctor smiled. She was so excited to see just what would happen with this interaction with River. It never failed to surprise her, what River was capable. She was hoping that they would get to have some domestic time, just the two of them. With time, at any rate. Maybe the Doctor could convince River to spend some time in the TARDIS before she went on her way. Some time just the two of them might be helpful for both of them.

They got to the library and the Doctor immediately headed to the computers, looking up the local newspapers. River hovered behind her, watching over her shoulder. "You've got nothing better to do than stare at me?" the Doctor asked.

"I often find things that you might miss, sweetie. Unless you'd rather I look up another paper so we can work twice as fast?"

The Doctor nodded, as a librarian walked over nervously. "Can I help you two?" the mousy, quiet woman asked.

"We're just looking for now, thanks," the Doctor said with a smile.

River put her hand on the Doctor's shoulder and the librarian seemed to pale. "O-okay. If you need anything, please let me know," she said.

The Doctor nodded while the woman scurried away. She turned to River. "You didn't do anything to her, did you?"

"Don't be ridiculous, sweetie," River said with a snort, turning back to her computer. "I'm sure that she's just anxious around most people."

"Yeah..." the Doctor said, a disbelieving feeling in her gut. "Bit of an odd choice, then, to be a librarian."

River shrugged. "Well. I may have had to strong arm a manager here and there, and word always travels faster than you'd like. But in my defense, they were white-washing and human-washing quite a bit of history."

The Doctor shook her head. "River, you're going to be the death of me one of these days."

River had a glint in her eyes as she responded, "I know, sweetie."

The Doctor read each newspaper front to back, every article, every classified ad, everything. Nothing was jumping out at her as a reason for a revolution, or an uprising, or a coup. Something here was very, _very_ wrong. "I don't understand," the Doctor said. "There's nothing indicating that anything is wrong. Something here isn't right. There's always some sign of unrest before a planet gets taken over. The whole point of taking over a planet is a rise to power. But there's no one being pitted against anyone else, there's no hint of under-the-table deals. There should be _something,_ but there just...isn't."

River leaned back in her chair next to the Doctor, humming. "It couldn't possibly be right under your nose, could it?"

"I feel like I would know that by now," the Doctor said. "I've had so many run-of-the-mill power struggles, and quite a few odder ones under my belt, too. I would recognize it."

River sighed. "So the research wasn't any help," she filled in. "Should we hit the streets? Look for any signs of something being wrong?"

"What are the odds we'd run into something like that?" the Doctor asked hopelessly. "I'd come back here in three years and the take over would have already happened. But if I stay here, I'm not likely to find anything."

"You can't save everyone, sweetie," River pointed out.

"But I want to save at least _one_ person," the Doctor said, almost a plea. "I want to be able to save that child, if no one else. I want to make sure that they're safe."

River observed the Doctor, not saying anything. Waiting for the Doctor to make the next move.

But she didn't know what move she should make. There were too many options with too few answers. She didn't know what was going wrong, just that something was. And if she couldn't pin down what was wrong, someone was bound to get hurt one way or another. A lot of people were bound to get hurt. And she didn't want that happening, not if she could help it.

"I want to save them," the Doctor said desperately, turning to River. "I want to make sure that they're all okay. I want them to be happy."

"You're working yourself into a frenzy over a problem that might not even be here yet," River said, cupping the Doctor's face. "Have you considered that maybe, you just need to wait?"

"Waiting is not my strong suit," the Doctor sighed.

"I know," River said with a cheeky smile. "I learned that years ago. But maybe, just maybe, you'd be able to bear the wait if you spent it with me?"

The Doctor sighed, running a hand through her hair. "I can try," she said. "But I don't know how far it will get us."

River just continued to smile. "You can stay with me as long as you'd like, sweetie, I don't mind," she said. "Let's just find something to keep us occupied."

The Doctor nodded. "Okay," she said, logging out of the computer. "Let's find something to do."

River's smile grew and the two of them walked out of the library. The Doctor hesitated, looking for somewhere to go. When she turned to River to ask a question, she had her head tilted up, her eyes closed. The Doctor waited for her to open her eyes. "What were you doing?" she asked.

"Just enjoying the sun on my skin," River said. "Sometimes it's nice to step back and appreciate the little things, you know."

The Doctor sighed. "I can appreciate the little things too, but there's a planet we need to save! There's three, actually!"

"Sweetie," River said, shaking her head and pulling the Doctor down the street. "You need to understand that you can appreciate the little things _and_ save the big ones, as well. It's all about balance."

The Doctor shook her head. "I want to believe you, but I just can't," she said. "I balance my trips, or I try to. But I can't focus on little things _and_ big things, that just doesn't make sense."

"Well, then I suppose I'll have to show you how it's done, won't I?" River asked.

The Doctor was about to protest, but she stopped herself. Maybe River was right. Maybe she did need to find a healthier balance. Her god complex could get in the way sometimes, and if she stepped back she could see the problem through a clearer light. She might even come across trouble without her running headfirst towards it. "Oh, all right," she said. "But at the first sign of trouble I'm focusing again."

"Sweetie," River laughed with a grin. "Don't you know? _I'm_ the first sign of trouble."

The Doctor laughed a little and offered River a grin. "I know that," she said. "I've known that for ages."

River guided the Doctor down the street. "There's a wonderful little park not far from here," she said. "Would you care to join me in a stroll, Doctor?"

"There's nothing I would love more," the Doctor said, interlocking her arm with River's.

As they walked, the gears were whirring in the Doctor's mind. River _was_ one of the first signs of trouble. Not always, but she was a pretty big indicator. But aside from her and the letters, there was nothing else indicating there was a problem. She knew she hadn't arrived too early, if River just happened to be here, but she couldn't find the answer she was looking for. Why were these things happening? What was the common denominator?

River lightly ribbed the Doctor and she jumped. "I can tell you're thinking, sweetie, and it's making you only feel worse," River said. "You really need to just relax."

"I don't know how to do that when someone's in immediate danger," the Doctor said.

"Someone's always in immediate danger with you, that's the problem with having a time machine," River said. "You need to know you can't save everyone, and even if you did...what is there to make sure no one else ends up in trouble when you finally rest?"

"Nothing," the Doctor sighed. "There's nothing truly stopping them."

"Exactly," River said. "You would run yourself ragged trying to keep everyone safe."

"How can I relax when I know that, though?" the Doctor asked. "There are so many people in trouble all the time! So many children that just...don't get a time to be safe! I want to make sure they'll be okay!"

River sighed and shook her head. "Sweetie, it's going to be okay. Even if not everyone is safe, you keep the intergalactic dangers from getting out of hand, and that counts for something. You keep so many people more safe than they would be otherwise. That's important."

The Doctor felt frustrated tears building. "I don't think you're listening to me," she said.

"I don't think you're saying what's really bothering you," River replied smoothly.

The Doctor opened her mouth, a choked sound the only noise she could make for a solid minute. "Children wrote to me, River. Children. Most children only hear about me through legend, I'm a bit like Santa Clause, or the Daleks. Sure, you believe in them as a kid, but as you grow up, you realize that even if they are real, it's unlikely they'll come for you. These kids...they had to be old enough to be outgrowing my legend. And yet they wrote to me anyway. As a last-ditch effort to try and save them. Save the people they loved and cared for. I..." the Doctor blew out a breath and her voice was thick as she said, "I was their last line of defense. And I failed to save them."

"You can't save everyone," River repeated. "Even if they're children."

"That doesn't mean I shouldn't try!" the Doctor snapped back.

"That _also_ doesn't mean you should hold the weight of their worlds on your shoulders," River said. "You have a _time machine,_ Doctor. You can go back and save them, try again if you need to. It's an unpleasant thought that they could have been hurt, yes. But it's not your fault, especially if you weren't there in the first place."

The Doctor looked at the ground. River had a point. She couldn't be everywhere all at once, even with a time machine. She had her limits. "I just...I don't want them to be hurt," she said softly.

"I know," River said. "But it's time for you to take a breath and take a step back. Even doctors aren't on call twenty-four-seven. There's a reason they take shifts."

"They were children, River," the Doctor choked out.

Turning to River, she saw the concern on River's face, but not the understanding she usually saw, as well. It confused her, that River was apparently not immediately understanding why this was distressing her. But she blinked, and her tears began to fall, and River had wrapped her in a gentle hug. It wasn't what the Doctor needed, exactly. She needed to know that those children had their fullest chance of life. But even so, it was a small comfort, and the Doctor would take what she could get at this point.

When the Doctor pulled away, River held her at arm's length. "Are you going to agree to live in the moment, just for a couple days? Just be here, with me?"

Reluctantly, the Doctor nodded. "Yeah," she said, sniffling. "Yeah. I know you have a point. But it's hard to let go sometimes."

"It's hard to let go, _always,"_ River corrected. "Especially for you."

"Especially for me," the Doctor said with a hesitant, watery smile.

The two of them continued their walk through the park, talking about this and that. Adventures they had gone on with each other in the past, people they had both met even if they weren't in the same time. It was nice. It was...sweet. Peaceful. A chance to slow down. The Doctor felt the tension leaving her shoulders. It hurt that she didn't save those kids right now, but at the moment, she was fishing in a too large pond to know which lure she needed to find the invasive species. She would have to wait, just for a couple days. Get a lay of the land, the fish she saw, and everything she needed.

After the walk, they went back to River's hotel room. River was hungry, and the Doctor offered to cook for her. River simply laughed at the offer. "Sweetie, there's no way that you can safely cook without supervision. You burned instant macaroni and cheese, remember?"

"That was one time, and I apologized for setting fire to Amy and Rory's microwave!" the Doctor huffed.

"You didn't pay for the replacement, though," River said, a knowing mischief in her eyes.

The Doctor huffed again and crossed her arms. "Well, I'm not making you do all the work of making food yourself," she protested.

"Of course not, sweetie," River said. "It's a bit early for a full dinner, but a little late for lunch. I say we have a small dinner as a compromise, and if you're hungry later, we can make more food then."

The Doctor sighed. "All right," she said. "What kind of food are you thinking?"

River just shrugged, rummaging in the kitchenette to see what they had by way of food. A box of pasta came forth, as well as a pot. "We can start by boiling the noodles," River said. "If you could be a dear and buy me some chicken, or the local equivalent, down the street, that would be lovely. Buy a couple spices too. I might not use all of them tonight but I'm sure I could plan a few more meals based on what you get."

The Doctor nodded, and kissed River's cheek. "I'll be back in a mo," she said, walking out.

She walked down the street, ignoring the odd looks some of the aliens were giving her. She knew that not a lot of them had seen humanoids like her before. Humanoids weren't huge in this galaxy for another century, so it made sense that not everyone would recognize her or be eager to see her. She just kept walking, down to the local grocery store. It was a unique idea, she pondered, to have a grocer's near hotels. But then again, if you wanted a little taste of home while you travelled, what better place to put it?

Grabbing a shopping cart, she wandered the aisles, looking at the different kinds of meat they offered. Would River like this or that? She said something like chicken, but what was similar to chicken here?

There were so many options she was musing over, and she just barely noticed the gangly youth next to her before he walked away. "Excuse me, I'd like my screwdriver back, please," she said, turning to him.

He looked at her oddly. "That's what this is?" he asked, holding up the sonic. "I thought it would make a pretty penny."

"The parts are probably more valuable than the whole item at this point, and you don't know how to take it apart properly. Give," she said, taking it back. "What's your name?"

"Jebediah," the boy said.

That was the name of the boy who had written her from this planet, and her blood turned to ice in an instant. "Tell you what, Jebediah," she said, pulling out a wallet and handing him some money. "I'll give you some money for food today, and neither of us talk about you trying to steal my sonic, okay?"

The boy took the money slowly. "No tricks?" he asked.

"I'm a man...er, woman of my word," she said. "Don't worry. I'll keep my end of the bargain."

The boy gave her a toothy smile and said, "Thanks, ma'am. It's been a while since I've been able to buy any good food for myself."

"I know the feeling," the Doctor laughed. "I'm a terrible cook. I'm lucky my wife takes pity on me and helps me make food sometimes."

The boy nodded. "Thank you," he repeated, before running off.

The Doctor smiled, tears starting to form in her eyes as she watched him walk away. The thought of someone as young and desperate as him, writing her...it made her stomach churn. At least she knew she was in the right place now, though. She had the place, she just needed the time. And, with any luck, she would find it soon.

She grabbed some meat and bought it, along with a couple spices. She needed to head back, tell River what she had found.

There was a bit of a commotion coming from the hotel, and as she walked back, bags in hand, she slowed down. A rather angry man was swearing to his company about some woman, and as he ranted and raved, the others looked nervous. Something had clearly just happened. Could this be the key to what was going on? "Pardon me, gents, is everything all right?"

The man paused mid-rant and gave the Doctor an askance look. "You're with her, aren't ya?" he asked. "Just because she took over my city and my business doesn't mean I'm afraid of her minions, you know! And she never said I couldn't curse her name to the heavens."

"Who's 'she'?" the Doctor asked, eyebrows furrowing.

"Don't play coy, everyone knows you work with her! The woman with curls and a tongue three times as deadly as a sword!"

"That describes a lot of people in my life," the Doctor said simply. "I don't think that narrows it down as much as you think it does."

The man huffed and stalked off, and the Doctor watched him go, his company giving her nervous glances and muttering about not only losing their jobs but dying on the same day. The Doctor's blood was running cold.

She rushed into the hotel and burst into her room, where River was standing, stirring pasta. "Everything all right, sweetie? You look like you've seen a ghost," River said.

"No, everything's not okay," the Doctor said. "There was this boy in the grocer's, and then a man outside the hotel, and both of them seem—" before she could explain the connection to her problem, there was a loud explosion outside the hotel, rattling the windows in their frames. The Doctor dropped the bag of groceries, rushing back the way she came.

"Doctor!" River called after her. "Wait for me!"

The Doctor barely heard her. She just had to keep running, running, running. Not again. She didn't want to lose yet another planet. She wasn't going to let that happen on her watch.

River caught up with her right as they got outside. The Doctor looked around among the screaming masses, but couldn't see any fire, or a source of the exploding sound. "Oh, no," she breathed. "What was that?! Where did it come from?"

"I don't know," River said, next to her. "But whatever it was, it might strike again. Are we sure it's safe to be out here?"

"No," the Doctor said. "But we have to find the source. I can't let another planet die by my inaction!"

"Doctor...Doctor!" River exclaimed, grabbing her wrist. "Be careful and cautious about this. We don't know what that was. We don't want to risk any enemy getting a one-up on us through surprise. We should gather everyone panicking somewhere indoors, first."

That was reasonable. That was a plan that she could follow. She whistled at the crowd. "Everybody, get inside!" she exclaimed. "Gather everyone you can, get inside! Help the children and those who might not be able to get there on their own. Quickly, now!" she exclaimed.

She rushed through the crowd, trying to herd people inside the buildings. River did the same, and when the streets were mostly deserted, the Doctor looked to River. "There hasn't been another one," she said.

"There has to be another one coming soon, then," River panted.

The Doctor scanned the surroundings with her sonic screwdriver, but couldn't get a clear read on anything unusual. Yet again. "Come on, you stupid thing!" she exclaimed, banging it against her hand. "Why aren't you picking up that there was just an explosive set off?!"

River got the Doctor to stop banging the screwdriver, and looked it over. "Have you tried all the settings?" she asked.

"All but the biometrics," the Doctor said. "But...but I don't think the biometrics would tell us anything useful. I tried that scan on the last few planets I went to. It didn't pick anything up."

River pursed her lips in thought. "Maybe...maybe we should head inside as well," she mused.

The Doctor faintly agreed and the two of them went back to their hotel room. The atmosphere was tense, apprehensive. People were crowded in the hallways, away from windows. The Doctor couldn't say she didn't understand why. She knew all too well the worries and perils at stake. She picked up the grocery bag, passing the ingredients to River. If they couldn't pick up anything, it was no use going into a surprise fight with an empty stomach. The noodles, thankfully, hadn't burned while they were outside. The kitchenette seemed to have a built-in timer on the stove. River added spices to the chicken and heated it in a pan, and the two of them at chicken and pasta on the bed. "I don't like this, River," the Doctor said. "I really don't like this."

River shook her head. "I know you don't," she said, after swallowing. "I don't like it either. I think we're walking into potentially dangerous territory without even a scrap of a plan. And no matter what happened in the past, you always had at least one part of a plan, even if it was just, 'don't die.'"

The Doctor swallowed down a piece of the meat and tried not to gag as her nausea built. "I can't guarantee that on this one, unfortunately," she said softly. "I know that this ends badly, I just don't know _how_ bad."

River nodded solemnly. "I'll ask the hotel manager if he's seen anything," she said.

"I can come with you," the Doctor offered.

"No," River said. "I need you to compile a list of everything you know about this so far."

"It's not much," the Doctor said.

"I still need it. Record everything you can think of. No detail is too small. Write it all down, and we'll go over it together when I get back."

The Doctor nodded and River left. Grabbing the notepad on the bed stand, as well as a pen, the Doctor wrote down everything she could think of about this issue, from getting the letters in the mail to now. She frowned, looking it over. Something wasn't sitting right with her. She was missing something, and she knew that it was sitting right in front of her nose.

She read and reread what she wrote, nothing forthcoming. Her eyes felt heavy, coming down from the adrenaline rush. Before she knew what was going on, she had fallen asleep again.


	3. Chapter 3

_The Doctor was running through the streets, desperately trying to reach the restaurant before she was late. River might just kill her if she was late again, after missing the last two dates they had between the Daleks and the Cybermen. She pushed through people on the sidewalk, finally getting a glimpse of the entrance and rushing forward. She panted, hands resting on her knees as she caught her breath outside the restaurant. "Need a hand?" a familiar voice asked._

_"Missy, go away!" the Doctor exclaimed, glowering at her as she righted herself._

_"Now, is that any way to treat an old friend?" Missy asked with a pout._

_"I'm here on a date," the Doctor ground out. "I'm not indulging you any."_

_Missy tutted. "Oh, dear. No one told you?"_

_"Told me what?" the Doctor snapped._

_"River won't be joining you tonight. I'm here in her stead."_

_The Doctor took a moment to assess that statement, before she exclaimed, "That's not how dates work!"_

_"It is tonight," Missy said with a smirk, walking inside. "Now, unless you want me to destroy this place, I suggest you join me."_

_The Doctor weighed her options. She_ really _didn't want more innocent blood on her_ or _Missy's hands. It just didn't sit right with her, even if this whole situation was a tad surreal. She followed Missy inside with a groan and slid into the booth opposite her old nemesis. "Why are you here?" the Doctor asked._

_Missy shrugged, flipping through a menu. "Why is anyone anywhere?"_

_"You know that's not what I meant."_

_Missy smiled. "I felt like I should impart a warning to you. But it's not like you would listen to me when you're awake."_

_"So you crawl inside my mind to invade my dream where I'm supposed to be on a date with River? Real nice," the Doctor scoffed._

_"Your wife seems a bit off to you," Missy said casually. "She isn't behaving the way she usually does. And you can't put your finger on why."_

_The Doctor's anger melted away into concern. "How do you know that?"_

_"So it's true, then?" Missy asked, with mischief in her eyes._

_"You know what you can do?" the Doctor asked, moving to leave. "You can go screw—"_

_"Sit down," Missy snapped. "And listen when I talk to you."_

_"Why should I?" the Doctor asked._

_"Because I fear your life may be in peril. And it just wouldn't do to have you die by anyone else's hands but mine," Missy said, glaring at the Doctor. "You're dealing with two invasions at once on this planet you're on."_

_"Two?" the Doctor asked. "I've only found out information about one."_

_"That explosion today," Missy said, "It wasn't anything I had known about. I know the other invasion, but this came completely out of the blue. I don't know if they're after you or the planet, but be careful."_

_"What's the other invasion?" the Doctor asked._

_Missy sipped at a glass of water, not saying anything._

_"What's the other invasion?!" the Doctor pressed._

_"Maybe I don't want to tell you," Missy said petulantly._

_"Maybe I should leave, then," the Doctor quipped back._

_Missy sighed. "If you still haven't figured it out by the time one invasion has been stopped, I'll tell you the other. The least I can do is poke my nose around and see what my handiwork has been doing."_

_"What is your handiwork? What have you done?" the Doctor asked._

_Missy just gave the Doctor an eye-roll. "I just told you I won't spill anything until one invasion has been dealt with, my dear."_

_The Doctor growled. "That's not playing fair!" she exclaimed, slamming her hand on the table._

_"I'm not playing," Missy said, giving her an unimpressed look. "I_ play _for keeps. This isn't something I'm interested in keeping. She's all yours."_

_"She?" the Doctor asked._

_Missy tutted. "I fear I've said too much already," she said. "Time for you to wake up, dear. I fear your_ wife _is asking after you."_

The Doctor's eyes shot open and River was leaning over her, eyes softening when she saw the Doctor wake up. "There you are," she said. "I've been trying to wake you for ten minutes!"

"Interesting dreams, didn't want to leave them quite yet," the Doctor said by way of explanation, sitting up. She wasn't sure if what had happened with Missy was just another dream or if Missy had genuinely called on her. "What happened while I was gone?"

"There's aliens crawling the streets," River said. "And they're clearly not from here."

The Doctor jumped to her feet and gestured to River. "Lead the way," she said.

River showed her out of the hotel and into the streets, where thousands of slime-like creatures were crawling over everything, sucking up energy from whatever they touched. The Doctor looked around. "Where did they come from?"

"The explosion was their spaceship hitting the atmosphere," River said. "There was a second crash, much louder. It was in the middle of an abandoned street, no one got hurt, but if we don't stop these things, they're going to destroy the planet, and probably any other planet in this solar system as well."

The Doctor looked around desperately, looking for a plan. "Okay, okay..." she breathed. Think, think! "They want energy? Are they taking anything else?"

River shook her head. "They're just eating up anything energy-based in their path. That includes biological beings."

The Doctor hummed. "Any chance we could fling them into the sun? Even if it doesn't kill 'em, they might be able to feed for several thousand years before they need something new."

"We can try," River said. "But how do we get them all back to the spaceship? There's thousands of them!"

The Doctor glanced around, before noticing some of the slimes were heading in a familiar direction. "They're going towards the TARDIS!" she exclaimed. "Tons of energy on the old girl, both figuratively and literally!"

River and the Doctor ran down the streets, dodging the slimes as they leapt towards feet, hands, legs, anything they could grab onto. The Doctor opened the TARDIS and dashed inside with River, pulling levers and pushing buttons to send out a pulse of energy that would attract the slimes. She flew the TARDIS just over the street until all the slimes were following her, and then she headed towards the foreign spaceship she could see on the TARDIS screens. The slimes were combining together, growing larger and larger until they were one gelatinous mass, and the Doctor rammed them straight into the spaceship. She opened the TARDIS doors and slammed the other spaceship closed with her sonic, before setting the coordinates to this planet system's star. The spaceship blasted off from the street and the Doctor landed the TARDIS, stepping out slowly. "Is that it?" she asked. "Was that all of them?"

Slowly, River exited the TARDIS as well. "I think so," she said, decidedly uncertain. "I don't know of anyone else who was trying to take over the planet."

"Someone else is," the Doctor said. "I don't know who, and I don't know why, but someone is going after this place, and it wasn't just those slimes."

"How do you know?" River asked.

"I had a dream," the Doctor said. "Missy was planning something."

"Missy?" River asked. "She another wife you secretly have?"

"Hm? No, she's the Master. Well. She doesn't like being called that, and I don't like going around disrespecting people's chosen names. Used to have that problem, Romana's a notable example, but I feel like that was more out of necessity, and I did apologize to her later on when I realized that it might not have been the best thing for me to do..." the Doctor trailed off. "Not important. No, she's not another wife."

"Good," River said with a teasing smile. "I don't want to share you."

The Doctor laughed, but her stomach churned. Something wasn't right, and she knew it. She just...couldn't put her finger on what. She just knew...something was off about River.

Without warning, the Doctor felt something vibrate in her pocket, and she pulled out a cell phone. How curious, especially considering that she wasn't aware she was in possession of a cell phone. She grabbed it, inspecting it. It appeared to be one of the cheaper phones on the market on this planet, and she wondered if Jebediah might have had something to do with it being in her possession. "Hello?" she asked, answering it.

"Have you figured it out, yet?" a familiar voice asked.

"Missy?" the Doctor asked, her heart jumping to her throat and her stomach dropping. "You gonna tell me what you've done now?"

"Nothing that you won't undo, I'm sure," Missy scoffed. "You're annoyingly tenacious like that."

"Missy, I'm trying to save a planet here. What did you do to it?" the Doctor asked in a low voice.

"I didn't do anything to your precious planet," Missy said, and the Doctor could almost hear the pout in her voice as she said, "What, do you think that all I have in my life is you?"

"You seem to make it that way quite often," the Doctor said.

"No, no, no, dearie, I didn't do anything," Missy sang. "Well. I didn't do anything _recently._ I just proved how easily it is for love to be an obsession. Maybe you'll think twice about judging me next time you see me."

"What. Did. You. Do?" the Doctor ground out.

"River didn't tell you?" Missy asked.

It felt like the entire world froze in that instant. The blood was roaring in the Doctor's ears as she checked to make sure River wasn't within earshot. Thankfully, she seemed to be preoccupied scanning things in the rubble and mess around them, looking for any remaining slimes that might have missed landing in the spaceship. "What does River have to do with this? You said something was off about her. You were right. But she hasn't told me anything."

"I _was_ expecting a thank you from you, at least, if not from her," Missy said. "She probably doesn't remember much. That library was such a pain to get in and out of. Had to hold lights everywhere, and even then, the shadows were almost overwhelming."

And there it was. It all made sense. The clicking of heels was Missy. River came back because someone had retrieved her data. But with Missy, there was always a catch. The Doctor's hearts leapt to her throat. What did Missy do to River? Would it be something deadly? Something the Doctor didn't know how to fix? "What did you do to her?" the Doctor asked.

"Oh, nothing much," Missy said. "Just turned her love and desperation up a little. And look what she's done. Destroyed several planets? That's rather impressive."

The Doctor could feel tears heating up behind her eyes and she stood stock still, face expressionless. "Fix her," the Doctor said, voice barely above a whisper. She couldn't. Not her River. River wouldn't do that. _Not before,_ her mind helpfully taunted. _Obviously, she's done it now._

"I'm afraid I can't do that, dearie," Missy said.

"Doctor?" River asked, turning towards her.

"Fix. Her," the Doctor growled. "And if you don't, I'll make you pay for it."

"Oh, dearie, I'm afraid I can't do that," Missy said. "Once she was out of there, she's out. Unless you want to put her through the pain of putting her back in, there's nothing I can do to save her."

"Fix her, damn it, Missy, that's an order!" the Doctor exclaimed.

"Sweetie, what's wrong?" River asked.

The Doctor couldn't even look at River. She blinked, tears beginning to fall. She thought about River's letter. All the dots in the paper. She brought the map up in her mind. Every last one of the planets the Doctor had visited, or gotten a letter from a child, had been marked on the paper. How could she have not seen that before? And to make matters even worse, there were dots beyond the letters as well. All of the planets or galaxies could be viewed from Trenzalore. It made a twisting, horrified sense. River was showing her what she could do if the Doctor didn't pay attention to her. Just like Missy would.

"I can't fix her, dearie. I just break things. _You're_ the one who fixes them. After all, you're the Doctor out of us, aren't you?" Missy asked.

The line ended with a click. The Doctor was shaking. With fury, or fear, she couldn't tell. She wanted to throttle Missy. She wanted to throttle River. But most of all, she wanted to cradle those children whose lives River had destroyed close, and apologize for playing a part in making the monster who had destroyed them.

"Who was that?" River asked. "Why are you so worked up?"

"You destroyed those planets." It wasn't a question.

River laughed incredulously. "Why would I ever—"

"I don't know," the Doctor said. "But I know you killed them. You scorched their earth, you made them live their lives in terror, that was all you."

River looked at the Doctor, and the Doctor just stared her down. Daring her to say something to the contrary.

And River didn't even try to hide it. "Yes," she said with a defeated sigh. "I did."

"Why?" the Doctor asked. "Why would you do it, River?"

"Because you promised," River said, her eyes hardening. "You promised you would always come to see me, come to help me. You said that you would always be there for me when I needed you. You ran off after the library, continuing on with your life as if I were never there. When I came back, I was sent back to Trenzalore. I waited. I waited for you, for so long, barely taking a chance to move, to sleep, in hopes that you would hold to your promise. I never needed you more than I did in that moment, and you _weren't there!"_

The last words were shouted, harsh, accusatory. The Doctor saw the Master, saw Missy, in those words. That obsession, that anger, that righteous fury and the delusion that there would never be anyone except the two of them in the world. And it frightened her that it was coming from River. River, her wife. The woman she loved. River looked furious...at the Doctor. Pitting them against each other. And the Doctor finally saw the pain. The pain in River's eyes, showing her that this wasn't something River was in control of. Still, she couldn't stop the words from leaving her mouth. "Stop this, River, stop it!" the Doctor exclaimed harshly. "You don't need to destroy entire worlds to get my attention!"

"I can't," River said, tears coming to her eyes. "I don't know why—I just—I can't! I can't stop!"

Taking a deep breath, the Doctor forced herself to calm down. Being so angry would only get them nowhere. "You came back a bit off," the Doctor said, cupping her wife's cheek. "It's okay to be upset, love, but this was out of line. All you ever had to do was ask."

"You promised," River said, as a tear slipped down her cheek. "You promised you would come back. Always."

"I will," the Doctor promised. "I swear on my life, I'll go back and fix this. But you have to promise something of me too."

"Anything," River said. "God, I'll do anything if it means the pain will stop. It's always there, sweetie. Eating at me inside, it's tearing my heart into shreds and I don't know how to stop it!"

"No more destroying things to get my attention," the Doctor said. "All you ever need to do is drop me a line, understand? I will always love you no matter what. That will never change. But you can't keep doing this to get my attention."

"I understand," River said, voice thick. "I just wanted to hear you say it, one last time. I need to hear it. It's the only thing I have to keep me going at this point."

"I love you, River," the Doctor said, a bittersweet smile on her face.

River moved forward, bringing them together for a kiss, and the Doctor stroked River's cheek with her thumb, her other hand going to the small of River's back. River was crying, and the Doctor was too. She knew that fixing this wasn't going to be easy. But she _did_ promise herself that she would do whatever it took to ensure that this never, _ever_ happened again. When they parted, they touched their foreheads together. "I'm sorry," River choked out. "I'm so sorry."

"I know," the Doctor breathed. "And I forgive you."

River swallowed, nodding. "You shouldn't," she said. "But thank you."

"What time did you get back to Trenzalore?" the Doctor asked.

"The year five thousand sixty three," River said. "They sent me hurtling back in time. I had hoped that maybe...maybe you would know somehow. I guess that was wishful thinking."

The Doctor nodded. "I'm not a mind reader. But now I know. And I'll be there," she vowed. "This time, I'll be there, and we can spare the destruction."

River choked on a laugh. "You hate dealing with paradoxes," she said. "And this one is huge."

"I'll deal with them, if it means I can spare you this pain," the Doctor swore.

"I love you," River said. "I love you so, so much. And I'm so, so sorry."

"I love you too," the Doctor repeated. "I'm going to go back and save us this headache now, understand? You need to keep moving forward."

River nodded. "I'll send you a letter marking off the places I destroyed," she said softly. "You need to know."

"Seal it with a kiss, so I know it's from you," the Doctor said with a nod. "I might not know what the planets are, but I'll know the message is from you, and it'll go to the top of my list."

River sighed. "I really am sorry, sweetie. I thought I was better than this."

"You were. It was Missy who got to you and changed things around in your head." The Doctor hummed softly. As much as that wasn't comforting, she had an idea on something that might help River. "One lass kiss before I go?" she asked.

River kissed her, slow, and sweet, and full of regret. She kissed back, and when the two parted again, River was smiling. "Go back and meet me," she said. "I look forward to it."

The Doctor nodded with a warm smile. "See you there," she said, stepping back into her TARDIS.

After closing the door, she practically ran to the closet, grabbing her best suit. She threw it on, and in her haste, did the buttons wrong the first time. She huffed, redoing them as she made her way back to the TARDIS console, and set the coordinates to the year five thousand sixty three, pulling the lever to send her hurtling through the time vortex. She didn't know _how_ she would help River, but she knew she wouldn't rest until she had. She opened the door to find River standing there, staring at her expectantly. "It's about time you showed up!" she laughed. "I've been waiting here for weeks!"

"Oh, you know how the old girl is," the Doctor said with a sheepish grin. "She never does the exact time and date."

"You're crying," River said, walking over and wiping a tear from the Doctor's cheek. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah," the Doctor said. "Yeah, I'm fine. Just...had a bit of a mix-up with an old friend."

"I hope you got it sorted," River said.

The Doctor smiled. "I did," she agreed. "We've got all the time in the world, just you and I."

"You always have places to be," River accused.

"Not today," the Doctor said with a small smile. "Today is just for the two of us."

River gave the Doctor a hesitant grin. "You promise?"

"I promise," the Doctor said. "I know what happened. I know how you stopped being a data ghost. And I know you're probably going to feel off-balance for a while. But you'll get back on your feet with time. And until then, I'm all yours. Cross my hearts."

River looked misty-eyed, but she nodded. "I won't argue with you on that," she said. "I need time with you every once in a while."

The Doctor hopped out of the TARDIS eagerly, closing the door with a click of her fingers. "Let's go, then," she said. "Anywhere you want, let's go for a stroll. The old girl will be here when we get back."

River nodded, intertwining her hand with the Doctor's, and the two walked off together.

**Author's Note:**

> Any and all comments are welcome, I'll try to respond to all of them!


End file.
